Kochi: As part of ‘Operation Night Riders’ launched by the Motor Vehicles Department to crack down on the private luxury buses that violate rules, the sleuths on Wednesday booked 28 buses for permit violation and other offences which reportedly included six buses of Kallada Travels.
The operation follows the brutal attack on the three passengers travelling on Kallada Travels at Vyttila on Sunday and also similar complaints received from several other passengers.
According to Joint Transport Commissioner Rajeev Puthalath, over 100 vehicles were checked in the state-wide drive and offences were found in 28 buses. “Offences like individual ticketing, carrying unauthorised goods, tampering with the speed governors inside the bus etc were found in 28 buses. The department has collected around Rs 40,000 as fine against the violations,” Mr Puthalath told DC. “In the past two days, we have received complaints from a large number of passengers regarding the bus lobbies,” he added.
Mr Puthalath also said that most of the booking agencies lack the Licensing for Agents for Passengers Ticketing (LAPT) and that stop memos have been issued to all those agencies. “Notices were also issued to those offices with a seven-day deadline to obtain the LAPT. The offices which lack the licence even after the deadline will be closed down,” Mr Puthalath said.
Meanwhile, directions were given to all the check posts in the state to intensify the vehicle checks. “All the inter-state vehicles coming to Kerala should be fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS), the vehicle tracking device and other mandatory fittings. Those who violate the rule will be charged with fine,” MVD officials said.
A high-level meeting of MVD officers to be presided over by Minister for Transports A.K. Saseendran will be held in Thiruvananthapuram to discuss further actions in this regard.
The recent attack on the passengers at Vyttila which was brought to light through social media has helped many people to reveal their bad experiences in the past.
